kitbag Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 We had a visit from a fox this morning. Luckily, the girls were still in their eglu run. It was trying to dig into the run, but didn't quite manage it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 We had a visit from a fox this morning. Luckily, the girls were still in their eglu run. It was trying to dig into the run, but didn't quite manage it. Have you upped defences at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitbag Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Yeah! We have got some chicken wire left over from protecting the veggie patch, so we lifted up the eglu ( had to borrow some muscles!) and quickly popped it under the run. I am hoping this will be a temporary solution. I am also planning to get some fencing around the eglu and run that will also go underground to hopefully prevent another fox getting in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucking mad woman Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 have e-mailed james as suggested. and put the rabbit floor that was in the rabbit eglu .in the chicken one then there will be a layer of heavy duty weed control fabric followed by woodchip and loads of tentpegs .topped off by netting all over the outside of the eglu even the door i have four bantams and two 4 day old turkeys (pets only as we don't like cooked turkey) arriving at the end of the week and i'm not losing anymore animals too heartbreaking p.s fox hasnt been spotted again yet which is good as my kids are furious and after its blood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Yeah! We have got some chicken wire left over from protecting the veggie patch, so we lifted up the eglu ( had to borrow some muscles!) and quickly popped it under the run. I am hoping this will be a temporary solution. I am also planning to get some fencing around the eglu and run that will also go underground to hopefully prevent another fox getting in! I hope Mr fox takes the not so subtle hint and stays well away from your girls . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucking mad woman Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 still no reply from james which is a shame as i was going to buy a cube ,but i don't like selective customer service p.s mr fox has stayed away so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanchick Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 But i don't like selective customer service I like that description, I have also had the silent treatment a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saronne Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Me, too. Saronne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaz Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 still no reply from james which is a shame as i was going to buy a cube ,but i don't like selective customer service p.s mr fox has stayed away so far So sorry to read the sad news & glad fox has stayed away since. I'm certain that James doesn't believe in selective customer service either, I think perhaps he's just not great at emails? D James is a good man, (I'm not bribed to say that! ) and Omlet do care about and appreciate their customers, he's probably snowed under with work and doesn't keep up with the inbox. This topic is useful for sharing experiences to help others avoid the same upset & you may have helped someone else along the way. I've also never heard of a run door being prised off before, these foxes can be very strong & cunning. We'd better all increase our defences, and you've made us aware of that. Hope that yours is now looking like Fort Knox and that you have better times ahead. PS...the Cube is fab! Oh, and Kitbag, remember ordinary chickenwire can easily be bitten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitbag Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 PS...the Cube is fab! Oh, and Kitbag, remember ordinary chickenwire can easily be bitten. I didn't know that! Thanks for the warning! Looks like I will be ordering some Omlet wire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter S Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Not sure about the Omlet wire, but we are very happy with the product we bought, as listed on an earlier post in this thread: I bought a 6 m x 0.9 m roll of 16 gauge galvanised wire mesh with 2 cm x 2 cm (3/4" by 3/4") holes from Mesh Direct http://www.meshdirect.co.uk/Wire-Mesh-Galvanized-20-x-20mm-holes-900-mm-wide-x-6-metres-16-gauge-pr-393.html This cost £30, which I think is quite reasonable. We've ended up with two strips of mesh that overlap about 15 cm in the middle of the run and extend beyond the edges of the existing Eglu skirt and also underneath the house. The mesh is secured to the run using wire hogrings, and also down the middle to join the two panels together. We also used U-shaped tacks to secure the mesh to the bottom of the Eglu house. In effect, we have created a (hopefully impenetrable) tube with the mesh panels on the bottom and the Eglu sitting on top. The "tube" has been filled with plenty of bark, so the birds can scratch around without damaging their feet. So far, we've had no problems. We will have to think about the flimsy plastic clips used to secure the Eglu panels together, though, especially around the door, as this is now the weak point in the set-up. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaz Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Yes, that type of mesh sounds good, it's the thin, old fashioned chickenwire that will keep a chicken in, but won't keep a fox out, that I was concerned about in my post. Strong cable ties seem good for replacing, or in addition to clips. Your set up sounds great Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 cable ties are very secure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smanners Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 OH let girls out earlier than usual about 6.30am and they were free ranging within their flexible netting. Heard usual egg announce from kitchen (they are right outside window). A few minutes later heard commotion and flapping. Ran out to see fox in the middle of the netting Two hens were dead and one was fatally injured and died minutes later Three others had been hurt ( feathers pulled and slight grazing) This all happened in minutes We have had no foxes in garden since we got girls.Our garden has 6ft fence all round and 8ft gates and girls sectioned off with netting........... borders have also been 'scented' by teenage son. Nature can be so cruel sometimes as fox didn't get his/her breakfast and my girls have died needlessly Hopefully the others will survive but they have now lost their freedom Amazingly the shocked girls all laid eggs within an hour of the attack but they are very nervous this evening when they were let out supervised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucking mad woman Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 sorry to here about lose of your girls((((((((hugs)))))))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Tilytinkle Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Dear smanners So sorry to read about your loss. It's so cruel Natures way they say is always the best, its one way I shall never comprehend. As you say its not as if the fox then has its breakfast , life cycle - circle etc not for survival but a devastating unnecessary kill. I hope you're okay & your chickens are getting back to their normality. It really does spook them, one of ours wouldn't come out of the coop the morning after witnessing a fox visit. Bless them. (Its just the worst scenario, also its so sad to see the survivors so wary & frightened too!! I truly very very nearly gave up chook keeping it was so vile an experience) Hope you & yours are okay. Many prayers are with all chooks and chook lovers who experience such a devastating loss & experience. Ms Tilythoughtsarewithyouall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smanners Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thank you everybody for all your kinds thoughts Luckily the injured girls are ok and amazingly are all still laying eggs The survivors have stopped sleeping on their outside perch in their WIR and have since gone to bed early inside their cube. I have started shutting up the cube door so they can relax at night. They have lost some direction as it was top and second top chook that were killed, but they are recovering and slowly becoming more confident again. Mr. Fox has been back 4 times since the attack Luckily they have had lots of supervised free ranging this weekend {{{{{{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}}} to all that have lost their hens to Mr/Ms fox (who I guess are only doing what's natural to them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Sophie, I'm so sorry to hear about your girls . I hope the survivors recover completely So far (says she looking round frantically for a piece of wood to touch ) we have been lucky with the fox, our chooks free range most of the day when I am here & the dogs are often in the garden with them. When Tulip was attacked by the neighbour's dog, I think Hazel was out in the veg patch with her, as it took weeks for her to venture back through the gate, even with all the other chooks and either myself or DH or our own dogs in attendance, they may be daft but they do remember. Strangely enough, the batties have never considered our dogs a threat which may have been her undoing, just the day before she was attacked Tulip had walked underneath Daisy's belly rather than walk round her Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smanners Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Thanks Sha, I'm pretty sure the others will be Ok now. They are spooked and angry that they are now confined but luckily they aren't too bright and hopefully wont suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The saddest thing was that it was Rocky's first day away from her chicks. If it had happened the day before she would have been ok Regards Sophie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter S Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Really sorry to hear about the loss of your girls. Finding them gone in the morning (as we did) is one thing, but finding the fox in the middle of it all is another thing entirely, and I cannot imagine how awful that must have been. And it looks like you have a very determined fox, seeing as how often it has re-visited. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I don't know if anyone else has posted about this but the fox that visits during the night has been chewing off the clips holding the door and run together. My husband has been replacing them with cable ties and cutting the end off close so there is less to get a purchase on with sharp teeth. We have a fox watch as well and have been closing the eglu door at night to discourage the fox from checking in but a bit worried as when we are away the girls stay in their runs and our neighbour checks them daily but the eglu door doesn't get closed at night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 That's interesting. When my eglu was delivered (over a year ago - how time flies!), Omlet had run out of the run clips and put cable ties on. They sent us the run clips but we've never bothered changing them. I bought another pre-loved eglu and that has the " proper" run clips. I notice how much "looser" that run is and how worn some of the clips are. Maybe Omlet should change to cable ties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I don't know if anyone else has posted about this but the fox that visits during the night has been chewing off the clips holding the door and run together. I went out yesterday to an Omlet sun shade shredded by presumably a fox which was scary enough (all chooks fine) I think I will be investing in some cable ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter S Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I think I will be investing in some cable ties Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I don't know if anyone else has posted about this but the fox that visits during the night has been chewing off the clips holding the door and run together. I went out yesterday to an Omlet sun shade shredded by presumably a fox which was scary enough (all chooks fine) I think I will be investing in some cable ties Ooooooooo scarey . Have you got a fox watch setup, and has OH been marking his boundaries . It's not nice to know you've got a fox doing the rounds is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
